Focused messages
I can’t stress this one enough, folks
Particularly in non-fiction/persuasive/social action-related writing, before you set out to write, decide on the one crystal-clear message for the piece, write, then edit with that message in mind, asking yourself, “does this sentence/phrase/paragraph help me make that single crystal-clear point? Does it keep the reading focused on the point I want to make? Or, does it distract and feel tangential and send the reader in lots of directions?”
Because here’s where this gets off track for even the most expertise-y experts trying to share their knowledge: when there isn’t a lot of self-trust going on, we tend to think about it in terms of “oh, I have to put all of these important points into this one piece.” But, it’s essential that you believe there will be other pieces, and in those pieces you’ll make other points and each point will have its due. It’s essential to believe that not only for your own well-being, but it’s essential to operate from that place because to do otherwise will make your writing feel crowded and overwhelming to the reader.
Because, remember: nobody owes us their attention, and so we have to earn it with every word. And, we can do that by keeping the material focused.
Think of adding detail to a message more like building an onion for your reader to peel back and experience (with each detail enriching and buttressing the main point) more than laying out a wide swath of things for the reader to take in and assemble. There is a lot competing for our attention these days, so make it easy for your reader to stay with you with this one simple thing.
So, today, start my making a list of not the pieces you want to write, but the messages you want to get across in your writing. Write about one of them today and edit for message clarity, and save the rest to your main ideas file and tackle them another day.
